Sean Yates: Oman was important preparation ahead of target races

This year’s edition of Tour of Oman came to a conclusion on Sunday’s stage 6. The stage saw a breakaway making it to the finish line ahead of the peloton, where Peter Sagan won the sprint in the main bunch. Rafal Majka was the best-placed Tinkoff-Saxo rider, as the talented climber finished 4th in the general classification 32 seconds behind race winner Rafael Valls.

The short 138km Stage 6 to Muttrah Promenade was decided among the riders of the early breakaway, as the peloton never managed to close the huge nine minute gap that had opened up with only 50km to go. In the front, it was Matthias Brändle that powered to stage victory, while Peter Sagan won the bunch sprint for fifth place shortly after.

“In the past, this has always been a sprinters stage. However, it was harder than in previous years. The break went early and the sprinter’s teams left the chase too late. They didn’t really start pulling hard before the 25km marker, which was of course too late. We decided not to take up the chase alone, as we’ve been riding a lot in the front. In the bunch sprint, nevertheless, Sagan proved to be the fastest, so that was unfortunate for us”, says Sean Yates, sports director of Tinkoff-Saxo

Despite the absence of stage wins, Sean Yates was satisfied, as he summed up the overall race.

“Obviously, we would have preferred to take home a stage win from Oman. However, our season is not defined by our results at this point of the year. We want to start steady and we have our eyes fixed on the major races of the season. At the end of the day, it’s the big stage races and Classics that matter for a team of our caliber. As a group the guys have been riding really well”, says Sean Yates and elaborates:

“Sagan has been up there on several stages, also today, where he won the subsequent sprint in the peloton. So we know that he’s on the right track with his preparations ahead of the cobbled classics”.

Rafal Majka finishes as 4th in the overall standings after strong performances on stage 2 and stage 4 up Green Mountain, where he was among the best on the final, steep climb. It was the first race of the season for the young double Tour de France stage winner, which Yates sees as a positive sign ahead of the European stage races.

“If you look at the history of the race, Rafal was among the all-time fastest up Green Mountain. And considering the big names, such as Rodriguez and Nibali, who were dropped on the climb, I think it bodes well for his possibilities in the spring stage races. He’s a rider on the ascendancy and his teammates obviously respect him as a team leader, as his potential is quite obvious”, finishes Sean Yates, who together with fellow staff and riders seals Tinkoff-Saxo’s Middle Eastern campaign and heads back to Europe for more racing.